Letters: County Commission’s vote a meanspirited waste of time

The Sullivan County Commission needs to stick to potholes and school budgets. The commission’s resolution against same-sex marriage was a meanspirited waste of time. It just makes it less likely that corporations will want to locate in a place so resistant to change. The resolution seems to support a bill introduced in the Tennessee legislature that seeks to “nullify” the Supreme Court’s ruling. If the state bill passes, it will cost the state a great deal of taxpayer money to pursue it, and the result will be the same.

Are we still in 1954? The Supreme Court ruled that segregation was not constitutional in the case of Brown v. Board of Education, and Tennessee tried to nullify the ruling arguing states’ rights — an argument that worked so well for us before the Civil War. If Tennessee had succeeded in 1954, we might still have segregation in schools today. Anyone can disagree with the Supreme Court. Many Democrats didn’t agree with the court when it ruled that George W. Bush won the election over Al Gore, but we lived with it. LGBT people just want the same right that every other American has — to marry people they love. Now they have that right.

Linda Barber

Kingsport

Won’t vote for Trump

Donald Trump is truly an enigma. He blows to smithereens every convention of political campaigning, yet he continues to advance in the polls. He makes our current leadership look like yesterday’s leftover gravy. He has done much to stir up the dormant power of the American electorate, and for that, I give him credit. But I can’t vote for him. I simply do not believe he is qualified to carry forward the traditions of our forefathers who put their love of God and country before their personal interest. With Trump, it’s all about Trump. He says he has never prayed for forgiveness because he never needed to. Pardon me, but only Jesus Christ would be entitled to make that claim.

Trump says Dr. Ben Carson is an “OK doctor” and then admits he really doesn’t know much about him. Carson is the world’s foremost pediatric neurosurgeon and the first to successfully separate twins conjoined at the head with both surviving. His contributions to society are monumental, yet Trump accuses him of being “low energy.” He should know better. Ben Carson simply personifies Teddy Roosevelt’s admonition that a leader should “speak softly and carry a big stick.” Our nation stands at a historic crossroads as in December of 1941, and I plan to vote for Ben Carson. I hope the rest of the electorate will wake up, put on their thinking caps as we used to say, and learn about Dr. Carson. Don’t vote against him without first making an effort to know him. Rent the movie “Gifted Hands.” Read his impressive biography online. I believe our future depends on it.